


...One More Time

by sCATTERGUTS



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Drowning, Gen, Near Death, Ryoma survives, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24885979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sCATTERGUTS/pseuds/sCATTERGUTS
Summary: What if--Ryoma survives his encounter with Kirumi, just barely.
Relationships: Gokuhara Gonta & Hoshi Ryoma, Hoshi Ryoma & Tojo Kirumi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	1. Clinging

Waking up, Ryoma was cold; weightless, floating in a sea of serenity; he was oddly calm. Taking in a deep breath eyes closed; his body began to burn. Burn like it had never done before, his lungs carried knives as his eyes opened to the deep ocean, not of calm, but of faces wishing to hurt him; he even saw hints of pink in this water coffin- his own blood. Something was grabbing him, tight, around the neck- he couldn’t feel his hands. God, what was happening? He tried to breathe, but lord it hurt like hell- the only part of his body he could feel was his legs. Without thinking, he kicked, kicked hard at whatever had him around the neck. He felt it behind him, his attacker, unaffected by his little body’s retaliation. Trying his hands now, he felt them bound- his attacker was smart, but so was he. Now, though, was not the time to figure out who it was; he’d know what when he was out.

The grip on Ryoma’s neck grew sharper. Shocked, he screamed out, letting more poison into his lungs. He knew he couldn’t do this much longer as he felt his legs lose feeling. Ryoma desperately opened his eyes, having been shoved down deeper, he could see a drain; he needed to unplug it now. Lifting from his shoulders, he swung his hands over to the drain, hooking his fingers onto it, he pulled up from his waist. Having been forced to close his eyes from the stinging, hearing the “plop!” of the drain uncovering was a godsend... He tried throwing the drain back up behind him, to hit the person behind him with the heavy object, but he heard it clank onto the floor. Whatever...how did he end up like this again? On the brink of death?  
He soon found he celebrated too early, as his attacker stuck his face in deeper, effectively making his own face the cover to the drain. His eyes dimmed as he swallowed more water from the excitement, was it worth nothing?  
He then saw an opportunity once more, since he was so far down now, his feet could reach the assailant’s face. He thrashed violently like a wounded animal, striking the attacker many times- with the grip on his neck already loosened from the surprise of the drain uncovering, and now even less tight from the struggle, Ryoma was able to successfully pull himself up by the waist, jumping out of the sink and landing on the monster behind him. 

Ryoma didn’t have a second to calm down from nearly being drowned, only having time to gasp for life, coughing up some blood soaked water. His attacker was ready though, throwing him off of themself and jumping on top of him, hands gripping animalistically onto his already bruised neck.   
It was...Kirumi? He...felt like he already knew this. Like he was the one in the wrong right now?

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why can’t you just let me….ugh!” She pressed her whole body weight down on him. His eyes grew bloodshot, and his screams couldn’t even come out. Ryoma's whole body hurt so much...this is what he had wanted, right? But his whole being was shouting no, this isn’t how it ends. It was a fucked situation, but he had friends here...he had earned a life where people cared for him, he at least wanted to see where that’d end. He could start over. 

A final burst of energy came over him, and he just started doing whatever the fuck came to his mind to stop this. He lifted his arms with all his might, and just started wailing on her neck; scratching wherever he saw skin. Kirumi was surprised, but didn’t let up. “We had a deal, little man. This was going...to stop everything! For all of u-” Kirumi grunted as his hands reached her eyes, making her flinch as she instinctively covered them. Her neck, chest and lower face were littered with claw marks, as if she had been attacked by a vicious cat.

Once Kirumi was off of him, he kicked away, coughing and sputtering up blood, half throwing up all the water that was raging within him. He hadn’t gone far before his body gave up as he laid there, retching painfully. His whole body heaved, unable to keep his eyes open a second longer. He felt blood drip from his forehead- he remembered being hit; but he also remembered letting it happen.   
He didn’t have time to dwell on his past mistakes, as Kirumi had cornered him once again, she looked so fiercely angry...it unsettled him.   
Ryoma managed to spit out “w-wait,” in a raspy, terrible voice that wasn’t his own.  
Kirumi didn’t listen, hellbent on killing him like this was just another request. She scrunched up her face, and drew back her leg. Ryoma tried to brace himself but was brutally knocked back by the blow to his ribs- the impact sending liquids still within him spitting out of his mouth. It stung his already weak body, being brutalized by someone twice his size. He groaned and coughed, unsure of when or how this would end, just hyper focused on all the pain he was feeling.

“I’m just here to help.” The maid growled, “Let’s get all those liquids out of you.”  
She struck again, much to the same result. Ryoma’s head was spinning, his vision blurry; he’d taken too much abuse at this point.   
Kirumi flipped him over easily, and placed her whole body weight onto his chest with her foot. Forcing more water out like a fucked up version of cpr. He tried to look at her, but he couldn’t move his pounding head up with his bruised neck.  
She got down to his level, making it harder to breathe once more; and when every breath felt like swallowing swords, it didn’t help.

Through his double vision, he could tell she was aiming for a shot at him, this time with her fists. His breath painfully hitched as Kirumi took the swing, connecting with his eye and nose. He tried to scream but coughed up blood instead. Now, he could hardly even feel the pain.

In his semi-unconscious mind, he was half prepared to die now here, and half prepared to live, so when Kirumi stood up and leaned back for what was sure to be the final punch, Ryoma felt all the pain and love he’d felt, not only today, but in his life. Witnessing his whole family’s death….watching his lover die, and with him on the brink of death himself...he felt a stronger will to live then had in his entire life. 

With one last brainless decision, he simply kicked at her feet- and successfully tripped her. The water she had tried to drown him with earlier made her slip, sending her flying backwards onto the sink, where she hit her head and fell onto the drain cover, knocking her out.  
In a few seconds, he had done it. He was going to live.  
That is, if he could find someone in time. 

He still had problems, beside the crazed woman now unconscious (at least he hoped so) at his feet.  
He couldn’t feel his face as he sat there just coughing for a solid minute- the water in his lungs was a great source of his issues at the moment. That and his now bruised mid section, with a possible broken rib and nose. If he didn’t find help soon, he could die.   
Ryoma decided that if he wanted to live, and he did; he’d have to get up and go. Ryoma wanted to see his friends again, and not waste the life his loved ones had died for.   
All he needed to do was move, ‘easier said than done’ Ryoma thought. He gathered his strength, and got on his elbows, as he was still uncomfortably handcuffed. Pain instantly shot to his side, causing a coughing fit. He collapsed onto the floor once again.  
He didn’t have the time to do this, he thought as he began to shake. 

Ryoma tried again, this time, a bit more successfully. He was able to crawl about one whole foot before he had to rest. He felt sweat drip down his face, mixed in with the leftover water and blood.  
He was forced to shake off his damp hat which had been weighing him down. He didn’t feel much better.  
Again he tried, this time reaching much further, to halfway to the door, before taking a break. He went over blood, both his and Kirumi’s as he went along- he looked over, she was still breathing. Good. He wasn't aiming to kill her, even if she had tried to kill him. Ryoma remembered the conversation they had more clearly now; she had a good reason, and he had even invited Kirumi to do it. Maybe if she hadn’t tried to drown him, it would’ve worked out for her. No point in blaming a victim.

With his train of thought distracting him, he now found himself at the exit. He desperately needed a break, but he couldn’t stop. He was growing more exhausted, as the sweat rained down harder and his breath worsened. He at least needed to get to the hallway; if he passed out, at least he could be spotted.   
Ryoma pushed himself into a sitting position, and threw his arms up to the knob, turning it between the cuffs. The door opened and he collapsed to take a breath.   
‘Almost there’ he thought to himself. He didn’t know where ‘there’ was, but he’d be damned if he didn’t make it.  
His journey began to...wherever there was people, starting with the staircase, He continued to crawl, a labor heavy task on his frail and battered body. He was dragging water and blood and even some vomit wherever he went. 

Ryoma took more and more breaks as he went on; his vision became darker, his body less responsive and every movement increasingly unbearable.   
As he took another break, one he was sure was one of his last before he succumbed to the dark, he heard footsteps. Loud footsteps, coming his way.  
Ryoma sighed shakily, and fell apart, closing his eyes--He was gonna be ok.

His body didn’t let him relax as he began to cough again, sputtering out small amounts of water. That was what must’ve alarmed him.   
“R-Ryoma!” He faintly heard Gonta shout, as his large body came barreling toward him.   
Ryoma felt himself get weightlessly picked up into Gonta’s lap. He opened his eyes and saw a wretched expression on Gonta’s face; was he so apparently in pain?  
Gonta fumbled for Ryoma's hands. Putting them in his own huge ones, he ripped the handcuffs off of Ryoma; snapping them in half. His arms fell to his sides once freed, showing bruises on his wrists.   
Ryoma sinked into Gonta's large body, closing his eyes. God he was tired.  
“Uh….um….” He could hear the panic in the giant’s voice. “Gonta find Ryoma help!” Gonta exclaimed, picking him up to carry him bridal style. Ryoma grunted at the movement. “Gonta be gentle, ok?” Ryoma didn’t respond. 

Gonta made his way down the hall swiftly, careful not to disturb the mess of injuries in his arms. The Fourth floor didn’t have anyone walking around in the halls, as it was late.   
Then, Ryoma got a lucid idea- Maki was the closest thing to someone who could help- someone who would help him. After all, he did have dirt on Maki. What could she do? Turn him down?   
“G-Gonta.” Gonta came to a screeching halt as he got to the third floor.   
“Get…” He couldn’t finish his sentence before he broke out into a raspy coughing fit. Gonta put a hand against Ryoma’s back, looking widely concerned. “Ugh...hhh….get...m-maki…”  
Gonta laid Ryoma back down. “Yes! Gonta get Maki for his friend! Gonta help.”

The whole way down, Ryoma felt himself slipping.   
When they finally got to her door, Ryoma was struggling to keep his eyes open. He weakly gripped Gonta’s arm for stability.   
Gonta ran up, cradled Ryoma in one hand and knocked wildly with the other-the sudden loud noise jolting Ryoma awake. At this rate he’d wake everyone else up- he didn’t want all this attention on him right now.  
“Gonta,” Ryoma harshly whispered. Gonta instantly ceased knocking to pay full attention.  
Before anymore could be said, Maki groggily opened her door, ready to tell off anyone who dare interrupt her sleep.  
“Who- oh.”  
“Uh...SORRY-TO-WAKE-YOU-BUT-RYOMA-NEED-HELP-AND RYOMA-TELL-GONTA-YOU-HELP? HELP? PLEASE?”  
Maki stood there a second, staring at the bloody and bruised Ryoma, who had winced back at Gonta’s yelling. She looked disturbed, for a moment.  
“Y-yeah. Come in.” She meekly said, quickly guiding Gonta inside. 

She knew this was about the videos; of course this was to happen. As Maki was rummaging to find her first aid kit, wondering how in the world she was going to fix this, and god why’d it have to be me? She asked Gonta, “What happened to him?”   
“Gonta don’t know, Gonta find Ryoma like this.”  
Ryoma didn’t want to tell them, he didn’t want them to hate Kirumi. But she was also injured right now...he just wanted it to be over.  
He’d be out soon, he could feel it. He needed them to know, at least, where Kirumi was.

He felt Gonta lie him down gently somewhere soft, the simple move making him dizzy, like he was on an elevator.   
Maki began to inspect his head, as it was the most apparently injured. She put a towel up to his nose- he hadn’t noticed he had a nose bleed, looks like a strong one.  
She got closer to him to speak, “Who did this?”  
Oh god here it comes, he thought.   
“Kirumi.” 

He didn’t want to see the expression on everyone’s faces but he could tell they were shocked. He sure had been.  
Maki didn’t slow down her handiwork in spite of the revelation, but Gonta could not simply move on from this betrayal. “But….Kirumi? Kirumi so nice to us….” He said this quieter than Ryoma had ever heard Gonta before; Or maybe that was his consciousness fading. 

“She’s-” Ryoma was cut off by Maki touching his injury, where he had been hit not too long ago. Maki quietly apologized.   
“She’s in...my research lab.”   
“Is she hurt?”  
“Y-yeah.”

Ryoma could hardly see now, the spots in his vision pulsing and growing- he saw nothing but pink and purple flashes of a spinning world before him. He couldn’t feel Maki touching him anymore, just tingles from where his body met the soft coverings beneath him. He heard murmurings of Maki saying something, and a booming voice responding. Maybe a door opening? The last sense he could hold onto was a feeling of security. He was being cared for, he was gonna be ok; he won.


	2. I Still Believe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryoma wakes up, and Gonta's here to help!

Waking up, Ryoma was warm, laying down on a gentle surface, tethering him to reality. His body was numb, and his head felt heavier than normal. He didn’t know exactly where he was, or why he felt like stone- he mainly just felt like he didn’t want to know. Ryoma sighed long and harshly, having found he was holding his breath. Manning up, he rolled his heavy head to the side and opened his eyes up as much as he could. He saw a large silhouette beside him, and instantly opened his eyes larger- was he trapped here? Ryoma prepared himself for a fight, though he knew he’d have trouble in the apparent state of his being.  
“Ryoma! You are awake!”

Ryoma could hardly hear Gonta’s muffled voice, recognizing it on the sweetness and tone alone. Oh.  
The blob above him got closer, causing Ryoma’s breath to stutter as he waited for something he knew wouldn’t happen.

Gonta’s embrace was as warm as Gonta was outwardly. He wrapped Ryoma up like the bandages keeping him together. The fuzziness of waking up started to fade, having been taken off the high of nearly dying; he hugged Gonta back, or, tried to. Seeing as Gonta was twice as big as Ryoma, Gonta could cover him like a tent, but Ryoma could hardly manage to get his arms around Gonta’s waist. His head rested on Gonta's midsection. When his head became still he recognized his hat back on his head. How thoughtful.

Ryoma closed his eyes, and finally relaxed. The pain had gone away and all that remained was Gonta above him rambling about something. He wasn’t exactly listening. Just feeling.  
Ryoma couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged him. He knew, though, that this time felt different. He had offered himself up as a victim in the past, but if he had died that night, he never would've seen what he meant to other people. He had friends here, people that did care about him. ‘Screw that bear,’ he thought ‘this ain’t over between us.’  
This time, he’d avenge himself.

“Is Ryoma awake?” Gonta quietly asked. Ryoma looked up having been called upon. “Uh, yeah, Gonta. Keep going.”

So he did, for the next couple hours. Ryoma enjoyed their conversation, however onesided it may have been. Gonta was a good friend, and seemed to truly care for Ryoma’s well being. ‘what a good guy’ he often found himself thinking. Others came to check on him, and Ryoma was happy to announce he’d be alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided there's gonna be a chapter 3. I want Kirumi and Ryoma to make up, since I rlly like Kirumi too. Even if she did kill my fav character. Don't know when it will come out since it took me 2 whole ass weeks to get these like 500 words out. sorry bout that. noticed 3 ppl had bookmarked, so i made it more of a priority to get this done.  
> Also, if y'all hadn't noticed, the chapter titles are based off that one Britney Spear's song lol.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't even finished watching DR3 yet but Ryoma is best boy and he should've survived longer !!!!  
> I started writing this b4 I knew the whole "ultimate assassin" twist so i had to do some rewrites. can u tell lol  
> Chapter 2 is already being written. it'll be short, probably give or take 1000 words. just immediate aftermath stuff.


End file.
